Photos: A chilly tour of Antarctica

Bethany Lindsay, Vancouver Sun03.15.2013

In this Dec. 2, 2009 photo provided by Aurora Expeditions, an inflatable boat carries tourists past an iceberg along the Antarctic Peninsula. In a remote, frozen, almost pristine land where the only human residents are involved in research, tourism comes with risks, for both the continent and the tourists.Andrew Halsall
/ AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 photo, a sightseeing helicopter lands near New Zealand’s Scott Base on Ross Island, Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 photo, sightseers board an over-snow vehicle on Hut Point Peninsula of Ross Island in Antarctica. Tourism in Antarctica is rebounding five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 photo, a downhill ski run photographed from an over-snow vehicle near New Zealand’s Scott Base on Ross Island in Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Dec. 1, 2009 photo provided by Aurora Expeditions, an inflatable boat carries tourists past an iceberg along the Antarctic Peninsula. In a remote, frozen, almost pristine land where the only human residents are involved in research, tourism comes with risks, for both the continent and the tourists.Andrew Halsall
/ AP

This Jan. 19, 2013 photo shows New Zealand’s Scott Base on Ross Island, Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

This Jan. 20, 2013 photo shows tourists near Castle Rock on Crater Hill on Ross Island, Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 photo, U.S. research personnel from McMurdo Station scale nearby Castle Rock for recreation on Ross Island, Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Dec. 3, 2009 photo provided by Aurora Expeditions, tourists paddle their kayak along the Antarctic Peninsula. In a remote, frozen, almost pristine land where the only human residents are involved in research, tourism comes with risks, for both the continent and the tourists.Andrew Halsall
/ AP

In this Jan. 20, 2013 photo, tourists scale Crater Hill toward Castle Rock on Ross Island, Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 photo, the distant Royal Society Range, photographed from Ross Island, Antarctica, soars 4,200 meters (13,200 feet) above the ice-clogged waters of McMurdo Sound. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 photo, cross-country skiers pass a survival shelter on Hut Point Peninsula of Ross Island, Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 photo, a Hagglunds over-snow vehicle is photographed from a similar vehicle traveling in convoy on a sightseeing journey along Hut Point Peninsula of Ross Island, Antarctica. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis stifled what had been a burgeoning industry. And itís not just retirees watching penguins from the deck of a ship. Visitors are taking tours inland and even engaging in ìadventure tourismî like skydiving and scuba diving under the ever-sunlit skies of a Southern Hemisphere summer.Rod McGuirk
/ AP

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